Whatever happened to spontaneity in travel??

[Twitchly]

7 hours ago, Clay Clayton said:

Did you ask about them?  

We did, twice. Each time the person behind the counter in the Living Room seemed to have no idea what we were talking about. 

[EasyGoingGuy]

Just joined in... I'm puzzled  why someone would ask such a question on a website devoted to answering peoples questions about "total information" regarding cruising.  Is that not why we are here?  Some may ask about this and some about that, but it all is about getting information about their cruise.  CILCIANRQTS (1600+ posts since 2009), if you want total spontinaity on your cruise, why are you on Cruise Critic?  People come here to ask questions and do research.  You should avoid this site, book your cruise, show up, see what happens.  Enjoy your experience.

Edited February 1, 2023 by EasyGoingGuy

[Ceegeefl]

I hope they have the pistachio buns on Venus.  My husband absolutely loved them when we were on the Sea in May. I think it may be one of the reason I was able to convince him to sign up for another cruise lol

 

[CILCIANRQTS]

20 hours ago, EasyGoingGuy said:

Just joined in... I'm puzzled  why someone would ask such a question on a website devoted to answering peoples questions about "total information" regarding cruising.  Is that not why we are here?  Some may ask about this and some about that, but it all is about getting information about their cruise.  CILCIANRQTS (1600+ posts since 2009), if you want total spontinaity on your cruise, why are you on Cruise Critic?  People come here to ask questions and do research.  You should avoid this site, book your cruise, show up, see what happens.  Enjoy your experience.

Thanks for your advice.

You’re so easy going!
I use CC for information on select or evolving issues, not to gather all the information there is on every topic.

[jasardeax]

20 hours ago, EasyGoingGuy said:

Just joined in... I'm puzzled  why someone would ask such a question on a website devoted to answering peoples questions about "total information" regarding cruising.  Is that not why we are here?  Some may ask about this and some about that, but it all is about getting information about their cruise.  CILCIANRQTS (1600+ posts since 2009), if you want total spontinaity on your cruise, why are you on Cruise Critic?  People come here to ask questions and do research.  You should avoid this site, book your cruise, show up, see what happens.  Enjoy your experience.

Don’t think the OP was suggesting TOTAL spontaneity 

on a cruise. 
The question the OP posed was……

“Query: Can one “overplan” a cruise??”

 

Obviously an interesting post, that at least 15 people took the time to Like. 

•  15
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[farmecologist]

What happened to spontaneity in travel?

 

The internet.   👍

 

Thank you.

[orchid2010]

So, yeah, looks like this thread has rambled off track a little, but it has been very entertaining, so thank you all! I love the OP's original question.  I think you CAN overplan.  But the judgement on that surely resides with the traveler who is doing the planning and their travel companions.  I love to plan, not because I am a stickler for schedules, but because the months of planning before a trip are part of the joy of travel for me.  I love diving into all the details -- ports, transportation, food and entertainment options, even rules and regulations.  Learning about local culture, history, and potential adventures helps me stretch the fun of a trip for many months before I actually go.  My spouse, on the other hand, wants me to do all the planning because he just likes to go with the flow. It is a match made in heaven, as I can plan to my heart's content, and when I float an idea past him, I know that he will always say, "that sounds like fun!"  I make custom books for every trip with details about destinations, but I don't expect -- or even always want- to stick explicitly to the plan. Some of the most transcendent moments I have experienced in travel have been when we wandered off the planned itinerary because something looked more interesting.

 

There is no wrong way to travel, except to be disrespectful of the people, culture, or environment you are visiting. 

[Pushka]

Over planning  tips into the overpacking issue. I'm the one who takes along the pharmacy. Because you never know what you might need quickly and not have to find an appropriate shop onshore. Husband laughs at what I take. Guess who is the one always asking 'by chance did you bring some .....'. Yep. In that bag there. 

 

 

[zalusky]

Another example of overplanning for us was Bali.  We read a lot of stories about drug issues.  My wife is a transplant patient  and also currently has neuropathy from messed up surgery and as a result she is on Gabapentin.  SHe is also now diabetic so add lots of insulin to the mix.  We have read a lot of stories about keeping meds in their original bottles and copies of prescriptions etc.  She cannot afford to lose her meds as they are life saving.  Our doctors said we are over thinking thing but still stories.

 

We would have been gone a month and she has to bring along extra just in case we get delayed somehow.  That would have been a lot of bottles and the OTC meds from Costco are in giant bottles.

 

We eventually decided on pill strips with lots of pictures.

 

Now the good news is we sailed through Bali immigration with no issues but there was the last stop at immigration where they could kick you into X-ray and they are very strict about CBD and other stuff which we did not have.

 

So were we overplanning or just protecting ourselves?

[CDR2001]

Friends were stuck in Zambia when the Covid airline shutdown occurred. It took 4 weeks for them to get home, and yes, they didn’t have enough medication. They had to ration it and break pills. Since that story, I take at least 30 extra doses of absolutely necessary medication! Agree, protect your health and yourself! 

[Squawkman]

Pre- Covid, I always took a few days extra medications. A week before we embarked, I heard from friends who were being quarantined in London until they were cleared to fly home to the USA. So I took an extra 2 weeks for each of us - and we needed an extra 5 days as we also contracted Covid. Viking was excellent in assisting us and offered to get us medications if we needed them, but I haven’t travelled without an extra 2 weeks since that experience.

[knoxclone]

On 1/31/2023 at 8:21 PM, Twitchly said:

We did, twice. Each time the person behind the counter in the Living Room seemed to have no idea what we were talking about. 

Same here on the Star in November....  living room Baristas had no idea what I was talking about. 😞 

[Jmoondance]

On 1/31/2023 at 6:19 PM, SempreMare said:

1) Planning helps the excitement and anticipation of travel start to build.

 

2) Time and Money.  If I had infinite time left in life, and infinite money,  I'd probably plan less.

 

3) For each vacation day, I like to have handy 

Option A (preferred)

Option B (next best)

Option C

 

In 2 recent trips,  ~ 50% of all days, a situation caused Option A to NOT work out.  

I saved a huge amount of time and stress by immediately simply pivoting to Option B.

 

Traveling has never felt more spontaneous, despite all the "planning" I do.

Great post! Thanks.

[tobique33040]

On 2/3/2023 at 4:18 PM, Pushka said:

Over planning  tips into the overpacking issue. I'm the one who takes along the pharmacy. Because you never know what you might need quickly and not have to find an appropriate shop onshore. Husband laughs at what I take. Guess who is the one always asking 'by chance did you bring some .....'. Yep. In that bag there. 

 

 

Pushka, good on ya! I totally see the wisdom in being prepared. Last summer I used up all my lidocaine patches and needed more. Guess what? Unavailable in Europe, at least according to one of the pharmacists I asked. Some things we take for granted aren’t available elsewhere, or not easily accessible. So bringing your pharmacy is a good thing imho. 

[Azulann]

I appreciate Viking having a RESOURCE link for every itinerary on their web site.

It lists curated book list, movies .  I have three books to read before my June Viking cruise from the list provided. Of course , I always attend the historian  talks and even watch Viking TV videos for specific topics in our cabin at night.  

I love to research the history of an area or country I will be visiting, besides reading a travel guide of the country for their maps, recommendations of hotels, tours , attractions etc.

I do have my priority list of things I want  to do and see. 

Once  the cruise begins, I love the spontaneity of meeting new people, never plan what I want o do on a sea day; on shore ,discovering a side street with local cafe,  a park, interesting buildings, landscape local markets and food.  

[LindaS272]

1 hour ago, tobique33040 said:

Some things we take for granted aren’t available elsewhere, or not easily accessible. So bringing your pharmacy is a good thing imho. 

I’m the apothecary packer on our trips, but I had an unexpected hard time pre-Covid on our Viking Homelands cruise (July 2019). I picked up a nasty cold in St. Petersburg and we were spending five nights in Norway after disembarkation in Stockholm. I had forgotten to try to bring pill versions of NyQuil/NyQuil so just relied on a limited supply of antihistamines/decongestants. Attempting to get better cold meds at the airport in Stockholm (after finding none on the ship), I found that the Scandinavian countries will not sell strong cold medications nor Sudafed without a prescription. I also tried the airport in Bergen upon landing—nada. So now I always bring our OTC cold meds. Haven’t had to use any in post-Covid travel, though, because masking had kept us from getting bugs! 😷🤗

[SantaFe1]

1 hour ago, LindaS272 said:

I’m the apothecary packer on our trips, but I had an unexpected hard time pre-Covid on our Viking Homelands cruise (July 2019). I picked up a nasty cold in St. Petersburg and we were spending five nights in Norway after disembarkation in Stockholm. I had forgotten to try to bring pill versions of NyQuil/NyQuil so just relied on a limited supply of antihistamines/decongestants. Attempting to get better cold meds at the airport in Stockholm (after finding none on the ship), I found that the Scandinavian countries will not sell strong cold medications nor Sudafed without a prescription. I also tried the airport in Bergen upon landing—nada. So now I always bring our OTC cold meds. Haven’t had to use any in post-Covid travel, though, because masking had kept us from getting bugs! 😷🤗

Yes!  The same thing happened to us.  I got a really bad cold in St. Petersburg, went to the ship doctor and got what I needed.  By the time we got to Oslo, and we’re off the ship and on the extension, my husband got it.  Went to the pharmacy near the train station and our hotel and was told they don’t have cold remedies.  So, now, better safe than sorry.  In fact I just finished packing all that for our trip next week. 

[CCWineLover]

3 hours ago, Azulann said:

I appreciate Viking having a RESOURCE link for every itinerary on their web site.

It lists curated book list, movies .  I have three books to read before my June Viking cruise from the list provided. Of course , I always attend the historian  talks and even watch Viking TV videos for specific topics in our cabin at night.  

I love to research the history of an area or country I will be visiting, besides reading a travel guide of the country for their maps, recommendations of hotels, tours , attractions etc.

I do have my priority list of things I want  to do and see. 

Once  the cruise begins, I love the spontaneity of meeting new people, never plan what I want o do on a sea day; on shore ,discovering a side street with local cafe,  a park, interesting buildings, landscape local markets and food.  

Azulann -

Well stated!  I agree totally.  Planning ahead of the trip and Spontaneity while on the trip!  Best of both worlds.   We do some "planning" for activities during the trip, but always have Plan B and a Plan "Go with the Flow."  I don't think it's an either or - it can be both!  I do think most people (or a least one person in a couple) do planning ahead of time.  I think the difference among people is more how regimented they are during the trip and/or how flexible they can be.  (Go with the Flow).  Seems most of the complaints can come from those who do find it harder when things don't go as planned during the trip.  Travel is an adventure and we've experience so many interesting things that were a result of things/events changing during the trip.  Happy cruising to everyone, regardless of which camp you fall under.